A little way down the road
by Apples200
Summary: 4 years after the series finale, this story is told in present day and through flashbacks. I do not own HoD or any of their characters
1. Chapter 1

So yeah, I'm back! This just popped into my head. A pretty harmless story but I hope you guys enjoy it. Please review so I know there are still HoD and Zade fans out there!

….

Zoe pressed her lips slowly onto to the top of the sleeping baby's head, her soft silky black hairs releasing that sweet new-born scent that Zoe wished she could bottle up and keep forever. The baby never stirred as Zoe rocked her tiny body side to side paying attention to every tiny detail of the infant's small frame- her pink dress, the white cotton socks covering her rosy red skin and not forgetting the crème bow that sat gently atop her head. Zoe was in love.

"Hey Doc…"

Zoe was unresponsive, she was in a world of her own.

"Zoe…" a female voice said a little louder causing Zoe to look up "… I gotta feed her."

Zoe smiled as she reluctantly handed the sleeping baby into Annabeth's arms "Sorry, I just can't help myself. She's like a doll."

"You guys decided on a name yet?"

"I think we're gonna go with Lucy" George exclaimed proudly as AB smiled along in agreement.

"Lucy Tucker… has a nice ring to it."

"And were both of you conscious and sound of mind when picking this name?" Wade asked with a hint of irony in his voice, directing his stares at his wife who could only roll her eyes.

Geroge smiled "Yes, we were both aware of the name we were choosing."

Zoe rolled her eyes "I was exhausted okay? It was an honest mistake."

Wade smiled back in her direction, he loved to tease her over how their son accidentally earned his name, a result of confusion and sheer exhaustion on Zoe's part having completely forgotten she and Wade had decided to name their son Ryan, only for Zoe, in a state of exhaustion to space entirely on that rather important life decision and declare to AB that their son was going to be named something else entirely, unbeknown to Wade who discovered through an update on Dash's blog that their son was in fact not called Ryan.

Annabeth smiled as she lay back down on the bed and set her daughter up for a feed, Zoe looked on almost cooing as Wade and George watched from afar. Wade caught a look at George who was watching on in complete adoration of his wife and new-born daughter.

"Enjoy it Tucker, it doesn't last forever."

"What doesn't?" George queried, his eyes still fixed on his wife.

"This, this quiet. One day you got this bundle of joy, next minute they're laughin' at you as they pour apple juice down the back of the tv…" Wade said with a hint of distain, the incident still a tough one for him to take. George and Annabeth chuckled as Zoe rolled her eyes "No way will this little angel be anything other than perfect…" she cooed as she peered in at the baby who had now awoken for her lunch "… unlike our pack of feral cats."

George laughed as Wade nodded in agreement "Speakin' of, we should probably get goin'. We told Lavon we'd be back by 5…" Wade lifted himself off the dresser he had been leaning against as Zoe gave the baby one last kiss on the forehead and a kiss for Annabeth on her cheek "…I'll call over before work on Thursday when you guys get home but until then if you guys need anything, you know where we are."

" _Knock knock..."_

 _Zoe lifted her head to see Annabeth push open the door, a bunch of flowers in one hand and a blue gift bag in the other._

" _Hey…" Zoe whispered as she sat herself up in the bed._

" _I just saw Wade and Lavon headin' to the cafeteria so I thought here's my chance to get some one on one time…" AB said quietly as she made her way over to the hospital bed, gushing as the sleeping baby came in into sight. Zoe proudly displayed her new-born son to her friend who took a seat beside her on the hospital bed._

" _Oh my gosh, Zoe…" AB cooed with tears in her eyes, peering in at the baby, his fair hair was hardly visible from a far but up close it was evident along with his sallow skin and two cheek dimples sitting either side of the green pacifier that was almost as wide as his face "…he has to be the most beautiful baby I have ever laid my eyes on. How are you feelin'?"_

 _Zoe smiled, her mixture of hormones and lack of sleep were catching up on her big time "I'm exhausted, overwhelmed but happy, it's nothing like I thought it would be."_

" _Why's that?"_

 _Zoe shrugged her shoulders as she stared down at her son "I didn't think it was possible to love him this much even though I just met him a few hours ago…" the tears rolled down her cheek "it sounds crazy I know but I just- I can't describe what I feel when I look at him…"_

" _Well he is precious…"_

" _He's perfect" Zoe whispered down into her sleeping son._

 _AB smiled with pride and joy at her friend "sound like a mom to me."_

 _Zoe sniffed away the tears "Wanda told me the hormones got worse after giving birth but I had no idea they would be this bad, just before you came in here Wade asked me if I wanted pie or cherry pie from the cafeteria and I couldn't decide…" her voice rapidly turning high and tight as she relived the moment "… and I just couldn't decide because I love them both so much!"_

" _Ok Zoe, its ok don't cry" AB trying her best to sooth her friend who was clearly exhausted both physically and emotionally, rubbing her back calmingly "knowin' Wade he'll bring you back both!"_

 _Zoe laughed at her own hysteria through the tears "Look at me, I've gone and turned into a mental patient."_

" _You're not a mental patient, you're tired. Let me take the baby and let you rest up for a bit."_

 _Zoe did not argue with that, she lifted the baby up towards AB who gladly accepted the sleeping baby into her arms._

" _Any closer to picking a name?" AB asked as Zoe lowered herself under the bed covers. Before her head even hit the pillow, her eyes were closing, the exhaustion had finally caught up with her "mmm..." she mumbled "… Jamie. His name is Jamie."_

… _._

Zoe looked over at Wade who was firmly focused on the road "they look happy, don't they?"

Wade smiled "yeah, they do…" he came to a stop as they approached a stop sign giving him a chance to look at his wife "…doesn't seem that long ago it was us."

"It wasn't really."

"Time flies…"

"When you're sleep deprived..." Zoe quipped as Wade smiled in agreement.

They didn't speak much on the drive home from Mobile, it wasn't often these days that they got a full car ride without crying, arguments or shoes being thrown, sometimes in their direction, so when the opportunity arose to drive child-free to the hospital in Mobile to visit George and AB alone they jumped at the chance. Zoe rested her head back as the fresh June air billowed through the car, the summer heat hadn't hit just yet although all weather reports were pointing towards the worst heatwave in 30 years. Wade also took in the tranquillity of the drive home, taking the back roads, he stole glances of his wife who dozed peacefully in the passenger seat, they often joked about how exhausted they were but both knew they wouldn't change the last 4 years of their lives for anything in the world, their lives were hectic and some days they were lucky to spend 30 minutes alone without being interrupted by a demanding child but both were happier than they've ever been.

As Wade pulled into the plantation he slowed the car right down, almost to a complete stop, and pressed down on the car horn consecutively as both him and Zoe waited in anticipation. It took less than 30 seconds for the bare foot fair-haired boy to emerge from behind the bushes and dart across Lavon's freshly mowed lawn. The little boy ran at speed, his denim cut-off jeans the only piece of clothing he donned, his long fringe flopping just above his eyes as sprinted barefoot towards his father's car.

"Can I drive?!" he screeched before he even reached the car door, Wade gladly obliged to his young son as he let him open the door and scramble up into his lap. The little boy's eyes lit up as he placed both his hands on the steering wheel bursting with excitement waiting for his dad to put the car in drive. He bounced around with sheer elation but also with an element of concentration as Wade guided him down the plantation driveway going no more than 20mph and let him turn the wheel all the way to left, to park the car just outside Lavon's kitchen door. The drive took no more than 2 minutes but to Zoe and Wade's young son it was a road trip- and he was in charge. Zoe, although anxious, displayed a smile from ear to ear as she listened to her son's infectious laugh, completely engrossed in his task of driving his father's car.

"J, where have all your clothes gone?" Zoe questioned as Wade turned the key in the ignition much to the disappointment of their son.

"Mmmm I dunno…" the boy said coyly, brushing away his mother's questioning by pulling something out of his pocket "… look what I got…" he exclaimed, showing the one dollar to his dad.

Wade yanked the dollar bill out of his son's hand, acting as if he had a hundred dollars in his possession "where did you get that from?"

"Grandpa Earl gave it to me…" he replied, jumping from the car, his bare feet hitting the stone gravel with no reaction.

Wade and Zoe looked at each other as they too got out of the car "When did you see Grandpa Earl?"

"Today with Lemon when we were gettin' lunch."

"I hope you said thank you" Zoe asked as she opened the kitchen door.

"Uh huh…" her son responded as he bounded into the kitchen and made a beeline straight for Lemon who stood at the counter "… can I have more?"

"Please!" Zoe exclaimed, in her ongoing attempt to get her rambunctious son to use the manners she taught him. The little boy scrunched his nose, looking up at Lemon "please can I have more?". Lemon obliged and poured the contents of the blender into the blue plastic cup causing Zoe to roll her eyes.

"Are you kidding me? How come whenever I make smoothies you refuse to drink them?" Zoe quizzed her son who laughed, thinking carefully about how he would respond to his mother "mmm 'cause Lemon makes nicer ones…" he said with a cheeky grin in his mother's direction.

Zoe rolled her eyes as Wade smirked "yeah yeah, get out of here…" she quipped as he disappeared behind the kitchen counter and down the hallway.

"Every freaking time!" she exclaimed as Wade smiled once more.

"What can I say Doctor Hart, your children see me as a culinary delight." Lemon quipped.

Wade pulled two bottles of water from the refrigerator, handing one to his wife who gladly accepted, the rise in temperature more noticeable once they had left the air-conditioned safety of Mobile Hospital.

"Everything go ok?" Zoe asked, taking a gulp of the ice-cold water.

Lemon nodded her head "all three children are accounted for, minus their clothes of course. We had ice-cream after lunch…"

Before Wade or Zoe had the opportunity to ask, they heard a noise from down the hall and not soon after a blonde-haired toddler came bursting into the kitchen only a diaper covering his rear-end, he was similar looking to his older brother, his hair was slightly blonder and was pushed back off his forehead allowing his crystal blue eyes to really stand out. Not even a moment later there was another thundering noise as an identical toddler raced into the kitchen, also in his diaper but could be distinguished from his twin brother by the fresh cut just above his eyebrow. Their older brother came along soon after and then followed by an exhausted looking Lavon who held a handful of dirty clothes in his hand. He dumped the clothes on the counter beside Wade before throwing himself down on the kitchen stool, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Zoe didn't know which child to attend to first, whether it was her oldest child who did his best to draw her attention to the cut above his baby brother's eyebrow, to her son who had the cut above his eyebrow or to her other son who pulled at her handbag assuming she had brought back some sort of confectionary for them.

Lemon and Lavon looked at each other, they had grown accustomed to the noise but it still took them by surprise the endless amount of energy that all 3 boys had. Lavon in particular was exhausted, he openly admitted that an NFL career was easier than chasing after the almost 2-year-old boys who had earned the nicknames Hurricane and Tornado, aptly given to them upon declaration that both boys had different styles but both delivered the same amount of damage as a hurricane and a tornado respectively. Their older brother was no angel either, he was energetic, sharp-minded and was even more charming than his father, with the ability to smile his way out of any situation. He had an answer for everything but most importantly he had his uncle Lavon and aunt Lemon wrapped around his little finger and Wade and Zoe were quickly realising that his younger brothers were following suit.

"Momma, can I sleep here tonight?"

Zoe shook her head, as she lifted one son into her arm "Not tonight Jamie, maybe on the weekend. Go say goodbye to Lemon and Lavon."

The young boy dropped his head in disappointment, making his way over to Lemon who greeted him with a kiss on the forehead. He looked up at her with a look of love for the woman who has been labelled as his second mother, someone who he knew from day one he loved just as much as his own mother. He then scurried over to Lavon, his best friend aside from his dad, who pulled him in for a hug "bye Lavon, see you in the mornin'".

Lavon held him tight, the little boy who transformed all their lives just over 4 years ago, no matter how loud or messy he was Lavon just couldn't resist falling in love with him all over again. He loved him like a son, he loved all 3 of them like sons.

Jamie hopped back down from his godfather's lap and towards his father's direction who handed him a pair sandals to put on. Lavon drew his attention back up to Wade and Zoe who each held a child in their hands whilst gathering up the mountain of belongings that came with each child.

"Bye Jackson, bye Dylan..." Lavon called out after them causing the two boys to turn their heads, each responding with an excited wave and a high-pitched scream as their parents pulled them out the door.

Lavon let out a sigh once the Hart-Kinsella crew had left his kitchen, it was chaos but he wouldn't have it any other way.

…..

So yea, let me know what you think! Thanks 😊


	2. Chapter 2

**Hope you enjoy, please review so I know what you guys think! Thanks**

…..

Wade yawned into his free hand as his other hand held up the hose that pumped fresh water into the paddling pool, it hadn't even hit 7am and he had already spent an hour fending off requests from his eldest son as to when the pool would be ready. Zoe sat on the porch step holding back said child who stood primed with swim trunks and a blue floatie strapped around his chest. His two younger brothers were not as enthusiastic about the newest addition to the Kinsella front yard and instead stuck with the trusty sandpit that was more toys than sand at this stage but it managed to keep them entertained for longer than 10 minutes, the same could not be said for their older brother who had the attention span of a goldfish and the patience of his mother.

"And you remember the rules?" Zoe asked her young son who bounced around with excitement.

"Uh-huh, no splashin' at people and no peein' in the pool."

"Exactly… alright go nuts" Zoe said as she released the grip on her son who bounded down the garden path in the direction of the pool but came to a sudden halt when someone caught his attention causing him to change direction and run to the garden fence.

"Hi Grandpa!" Jamie screeched towards Earl who was walking from the town square and once he heard his grandson's voice, walked a little bit faster.

"Hiya champ, you goin' swimmin'?" he asked as he approached the fence.

Jamie nodded his head as he swung from the wooden picket fence "Daddy got it for me but… I'm not allowed pee in it. Do you wanna come swimmin' too?"

Earl smiled down at his grandson "Don't got the time today I'm afraid, got a racoon I gotta catch… maybe another time…." Earl dug his hand into his front pocket and pulled out a crumpled five-dollar bill and coolly slipping it into the 4-year old's hand "Get yourself somethin' nice after all that swimmin'…"

Wade and Zoe rolled their eyes as they watched on- unlike their son they were not impressed with this new trend that had developed of Earl depositing some amount of money into Jamie's hand every time he saw them.

"Earl, will you please stop givin' him money every time you see him?" Wade asked as he approached his father "… he's gonna think that you're meant to give him cash every time you talk."

"Well what if I wanna give him money? He's my grandson!"

"Well yeah, but you see him like 10 times a week and at 5 dollars a visit that's 50 dollars a week…. And what about the twins? You gonna start givin' them 5 dollars too?"

Earl shrugged his shoulders, completely downplaying his son's concerns "Maybe I will, just gotta make sure I don't give the same one 5 dollars twice… can't for the life of me tell them apart" he muttered to himself as Zoe giggled.

"Look, Earl-"

"Look nothin'… they're my grandbabies and if your momma was here she would be doin' it too so y'all just gotta live with it."

Wade sighed, looking back over at Zoe who had a look of resignation on her face.

"Alright…" Wade groaned "… we'll see you later." He watched his father stroll away before turning back to Zoe was stretched between the sandpit and the swimming pool, she gave her husband a look of support but really, she knew there would be no convincing Earl to change his generous ways.

"Maybe you could get Earl to give just a dollar or a quarter?" she suggested as she pulled the handful on sand from his infant son's hand that heading directly for his mouth.

"Yeah maybe…" Wade said quietly "What time are you in work til?"

Zoe wiped her hands clean of the sand and rose to her feet, realising that chasing children around the garden since 6am wasn't her only job and that she had to leave for her actual job soon "4… Lemon is going to take the boys at 1 to let you go to work, you've got to drop them over, ok?"

Wade nodded his head as he splashed water at his son who sat contently playing with a plastic submarine.

"Am I gonna see you guys for dinner?"

Zoe shook her head "Lavon promised Jamie hotdogs on the grill. I'll bring you home some."

"Sounds good and hey, I'll try talkin' to Earl again about the money."

"Ok bye… I love you."

"Bye, love you too…" Wade replied as he received a kiss from his wife who rushed back up the porch steps and into the house, realising she was now in fact late for work.

…..

 _Wade came to a stop at the front door, slowly he pushed open the door trying his best not to make any noise, noticing the bedroom door was slightly ajar with the faintest light breaking through. He kicked off his boots as quietly as possible before tip toeing towards the bedroom. Pushing open the door the first thing that caught his eye was his wife laying on the bed and his infant son lying beside her, guarded by a wall of pillows as well as his mother's arm that was draped across his tiny body. Wade couldn't help but smile as he watched them sleep peacefully, almost afraid to approach the bed for fear of waking them._

" _Hey…" he heard a whisper behind him as he looked up from unbuttoning his shirt "…sorry, I didn't want to wake you…"_

 _Zoe smiled as she propped herself up in the bed, cautious of not moving her sleeping son "It's ok I wasn't asleep anyway… your son screamed his lungs up for about 4 hours before he eventually tired himself out, he only went down about 20 minutes ago."_

 _Wade smiled as he approached the bed, taking a seat beside his son "I love how when he's screamin' cryin' he's my son but when he's sittin' there bein' all cute he's your son…"_

" _Hmmm which one of us was in labour for 10 hours?" she said cutely as Wade sighed, leaning in to kiss her "alright that's fair… you want me to move him?"_

" _Yeah you probably should, all those parenting books say we shouldn't let him sleep in our bed."_

 _Wade leaned in to lift his sleeping son but once his hooked his arm under the little boy's body he began to shuffle and with that a small whimper came from behind his pacifier, Wade froze as he looked at Zoe, both instantly regretting the decision. Wade placed his son back down on the bed and in an attempt to settle him back to sleep Zoe ran her hand in circular motions around over his stomach, gently rubbing his stomach which soothed the young boy almost instantly._

 _Wade smiled over at his wife "works every time."_

 _Zoe kept the scratching going as she smiled back at Wade "I don't know how or why this calms him down, but it is a miracle and I hope it works until he's 18."_

 _Wade lay his head down on the pillow, finally some respite after a long day of work "if you're still rubbing our son's stomach to get him to sleep when he's 18 I'll be worried Doc."_

" _How was work?" Zoe asked as Wade hesitated "Uh good, Tom Long tried to sell his bottles of rain water again so I had to deal with that but other than that…"_

" _Wade, spill"_

" _How did you-"_

" _I could tell from the minute you walked into this house that something was up so what is it?"_

 _Wade groaned "Earl stopped by, he's goin' to visit Jesse this weekend."_

 _Zoe was unsure of what to say, she certainly wasn't expecting him to reveal that to her. She looked over at him, he was distracted and agitated as he stared blankly at the wall in front of him. She stopped soothing Jamie who had drifted back to sleep and propped herself up, so she could see him properly._

" _He's been talking to Jesse? For how long? Where is Jesse even living"_

 _Wade shrugged his shoulders "I don't know if he's livin' there but Earl is goin' up to Birmingham to see him. Him and Mae are makin' a vacation of it apparently… he wants us to go with him."_

" _Well do you want to?"_

 _Wade scoffed "No, I don't want to…" he leaned over and placed a kiss on his wife's cheek "Earl might not be drinkin' any more but that doesn't mean we're gonna be happy families anytime soon. Night Doc."_

 _Zoe rolled her eyes "Good night."_

….

Wade smiled as he leant against the door frame looking into his eldest son's bedroom. It was a small room, filled mostly with toys and boxes of baby clothes and old toys that Zoe kept meaning to give away but just hadn't found the time. It didn't bother Jamie though, he and his younger brothers enjoyed climbing the boxes and jumping onto his spring-box bed that was tucked away in the corner. Like the rest of the house, Wade and Zoe told themselves it was temporary- that the day would come when the boys would have rooms of their own, not overcrowded with boxes and clutter but a place they could really call their own.

Tonight however, after a long day Wade didn't care about the chipped pain on the walls or the creaky floorboards. He was just happy to stand in the doorway and watch his son sleep with his mom laying by his side, rubbing his stomach gently. Zoe looked up from behind her son's outstretched body, acknowledging her husband with a sleepy smile.

"I didn't even hear you come in…"

Wade smiled back at her "I tiptoed in, terrified I'd wake them all…." He observed his wife and son for a moment longer "…all that kid needs is his mom rubbin' his stomach huh?"

Zoe looked down at her hand that gently scratched her son's stomach, it was almost on autopilot at this stage as over the past 4 years she spent nights on end laying side by side rubbing her son's stomach until he fell asleep.

"Yeah, you know the twins are absolutely bonkers but once they're out they are out! But this guy, really does not like sleep."

Wade smiled "Never did."

"He told me the other day that when he starts kindergarten he won't need me to do it..." she nuzzled her face against his and place a kiss on it before lifting herself from the bed and walking towards Wade who greeted her with open arms, embracing her into his tired body as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest all while keeping her eyes on their sleeping son.

"How do we have a 4 year old?"

"Same way we have the other two- complete accident" Wade joked as Zoe gave him a playful dig into his ribs with her elbow.

"Hey, did you get a chance to talk to Earl some more about the money thing?"

Wade looked down at her "Yeah, he stopped by the Rammer Jammer…" Wade dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled-up piece of paper handing it to Zoe who unfolded it "What is this?"

"The details of the boys' bank account."

"The boys have a bank account?"

"Uh huh, set it up today. Now this way, Earl can lodge as much money as he likes, and our kids don't grow up thinking their grandpa is an ATM."

Zoe couldn't help but smile, looking up at her husband "You, Wade Kinsella, may just be the most amazing dad ever…" she reached up to kiss him on the lips "… in fact, I think you are so amazing and you work so hard for this family that you probably need your tummy rubbed…"

Wade raised his brow and smiled in complete delight "You know, now that you mention it, I really have had trouble sleepin' lately this might be the solution…"

"Uh huh…" Zoe nodded her head as she took his hand and led him down the hallway into the darkness. Both completely exhausted but unbelievably happy.

….

 **Please let me know what you thought and thanks for reading!**


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